Chimu Adventures' travellers were amongst countless holidaymakers and business travellers around the world who were suddenly stuck in this dire situation. With a sense of duty, Chimu set about to organise the repatriation of hundreds of stranded Australians from South America, not only their own travellers but also other, non-associated Australians, who had no other options to return home. What ensued was a stream of endless days and nights as red tape was battled on foreign shores and home ground. The situation took over the lives of Chimu staff and the travellers who found themselves stranded. Repatriation missions during a pandemic are not for the faint-hearted.
Whilst the tale focuses on the Chimu story, the goal of this documentary was to tell the tale from an operator's perspective and act as a representative of potentially thousands of similar stories from within the travel industry all over the world, stories which continue today.
Heralding the adversity met by the entire travel industry during this time, Chimu Co-Founder Chad Carey recognises the achievements of every travel industry member, “Although 'Calm to Chaos' is the story of Chimu's experience at the onset of COVID 19, I hope this story resonates with people in the travel industry generally, people who also fought hard to get their clients home. If nothing else, I hope this documentary makes everyone in the industry proud of what we collectively achieved at that time. Not only did we all get people home, but we did it the face of adversity so great that it threatened the very existence of our entire industry.” Said Chad Carey, Chimu Co-Founder.
Media stories revolving around the travel industry during the pandemic have not been favourable to date and it is, perhaps, because journalists have not been given a view behind the scenes.
“The travel industry stories represented in the media, thus far, have largely focused on where things have gone wrong. Yet, to date, no one has taken an honest look behind the closed doors of our collapsed industry and how we operated under incredible pressure when the borders fell. By telling the Chimu story I hope to represent the industry at large, we are all in the business of looking after people and with no income and no security for the future, we, as an industry continue to do so. Why? Because we care.” Meg Hall, Chimu Marketing Manager and 2020 'Calm to Chaos' Director/Producer.
Chimu staff and travellers worked closely with Australian and Latin American authorities, achieving the seemingly impossible, to exclusively open borders and airports so that Australians could return home during this unprecedented time. It became a symbiotic relationship that has paved the way for future travellers.
“Through their handling of this repatriation, Chimu has re-written the book on how industry and government work together in major crisis situations. Whilst CATO, it's members and DFAT have always had a very strong relationship, what this event has created is a template that draws on the key strengths and skills of government and industry to ensure a better outcome for Australian travellers. I know, from our discussions, DFAT were incredibly impressed and this will help guide their approach in future crises.” Dennis Bunnik, Chairman, Council of Australian Tour Operators.
2020 Calm to Chaos has been released on YouTube for anyone to watch and share can be found by clicking here.
Website: www.theholidayandtravelmagazine.blogspot.com.au
Website: www.chimuadventures.com.au
No comments:
Post a Comment